Kindgo
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By Alan Beattie in Washington and Jennifer Hughes in London Published: March 5 2003 0:42 | Last Updated: March 5 2003 12:05
web page The dollar fell to a four-year low against the euro and the Swiss franc on Wednesday after John Snow, US Treasury secretary, said he was "not particularly concerned" about the greenback's recent decline.
The comment was the first time Mr Snow has publicly remarked on the value of the dollar, as opposed to reiterating the administration's rhetorical "strong dollar" policy.
Mr Snow's remarks followed an appearance in front of a congressional committee on Tuesday. He said: "I am not particularly concerned" about the recent slide in the currency.
"The dollar is going to rise and fall some. The dollar is in the marketplace and it's within normal ranges," he said.
Following Mr Snow's remarks on Tuesday, the euro rose to $1.0984 against the dollar though it eased to $1.096 after a US treasury department spokesman said Mr Snow still favoured a strong dollar.
But dollar weakness continued, and the euro reached $1.1003 against the dollar by early European trading on Wednesday, its highest level since March 1999. The US currency fell to SFr1.3263 against the Swiss franc, a fresh four-year low. Profit-taking by jittery investors, wary of recently choppy trading conditions, pushed the euro back to $1.097 by midday in Europe.
Dollar weakness helped the Canadian dollar reach fresh two-year highs against its southern neighbour while the Australian dollar struck a new three-year high against the greenback.
"The comments from Snow reinforce suspicions that the administration has adopted a policy of 'benign neglect' towards the dollar," said Alex Schuman, senior currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "For the sceptics among us, he appears to favour a strong dollar only when the US economy is strong, without objecting to weakness in the current economic climate."
Paul O'Neill, Mr Snow's predecessor, caused several sharp movements in the dollar by attempting to explain the policy or commenting on the markets.
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Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
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